Commits Excel in Columbus

It was a busy weekend for Michigan commits, as Columbus hosted an Elite 11 regional on Friday followed by a Nike Football Training Camp on Saturday. Shane Morris bounced back from a lackluster performance in April's Dallas Elite 11 regional, taking home MVP honors in the Columbus edition and earning himself a spot in July's Elite 11 finals, which take place in Los Angeles. Morris beat out a field that included Notre Dame commit Malik Zaire, Ohio State commit Jalin Marshall (who will likely play receiver in college), Northwestern commit Matt Alviti, and Purdue commit Danny Etling. Here's 247's Barton Simmons on Morris's performance:

1. Shane Morris, Warren (Mich.) De La Salle – Good luck trying to pin a fear of competing on Shane Morris. Despite his lofty ranking and his early commitment to Michigan, Morris is at seemingly every event he can get to, eager to prove himself. On Friday he did just. He can put loads of velocity on the ball without digging deep, he showed great accuracy throughout the day and he has a smooth and natural composure in the pocket. Morris’ performance earned him an invite to the Elite 11 finals this summer.

Every Scout analyst on hand ranked Morris as the top performer, and they singled him out as "most accurate" as well. Rivals's Josh Helmholdt gave his take in the Freep:

“Over the past couple weeks Morris has been preparing to show he has more than just the big arm, and he proved that on Friday,” said Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt. “The opposite of overthrowing is trying to aim the ball, but Morris showed improved accuracy and spun the ball better while varying his speeds and trajectory.”

Michigan's star quarterback recruit wasn't the only commit to earn MVP honors over the weekend, however, as David Dawson (OL MVP) and Mike McCray (LB MVP) took home hardware from the NFTC. In fact, Michigan and Ohio State pledges dominated Saturday's event—of the seven players to earn invites to The Opening in Oregon, all were either future Wolverines (Dawson, McCray, Morris, and Taco Charlton) or Buckeyes (Marshall, Cam Burrows, and Billy Price).

1. David Dawson, OL, Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech – There were Michigan commits out in droves on Saturday, all wearing their Wolverine gear and waving the flag in Ohio State country but none represented quite as well as David Dawson.

A player with good length, Dawson showed good athleticism as an edge protector in one-on-ones but really separated himself with his finisher’s mentality. Dawson really fought to win his reps in one-on-ones and many of those reps he won with authority.

Dawson capped off his MVP performance on Saturday by stoning defensive line MVP Billy Price in the final offensive line/defensive line one-on-one. Dawson has been dominant throughout the off-season, but this may have been his best performance to date. He was moving his feet better than in events past, and he channeled his mean streak well, even if he went past the whistle on a few plays. Dawson ended up with more pancakes than any other lineman we saw in the one-on-ones and physically manhandled the majority of defenders he faced.

Dawson also made Scout's Bob Lichtenfels's top ten list($) along with Morris. You can see footage of Dawson, Logan Tuley-Tillman, and Charlton from the one-on-one blocking drills below, courtesy of Rivals:

Dawson's mean streak is on full display, as is Charlton's speed, though he also gets stuffed on one rep when the speed rush doesn't work out. You may notice that Tuley-Tillman looks a little ponderous and out of shape—he's been battling a shoulder injury that's hampered his conditioning and essentially forced him to block with one arm, so don't get too concerned.

Helmholdt listed Charlton as his #5 lineman at the NFTC, saying "offensive linemen could not handle Charlton's speed, but he also surprised them with his strength, even knocking Kyle Meadows backward on one rep." Meanwhile, Tim Sullivan provides evaluations for Mike McCray ($)...

McCray's ability to cover running backs out of the backfield had previously been considered a question mark, but it's one that he answered emphatically on Saturday. He was able to go stride-for-stride with all but the quickest tailbacks there, and showed the ability to not only blanket a receiver, but make plays on the ball as well. In edge-rush drills, he showed the ability to overpower running backs and tight ends, but also a quickness to go around them that's uncommon in a player his size.

...and Khalid Hill:

Hill impressed again on Saturday, with more athleticism than he's given credit for at times, precise routes, and as always, very good hands. He developed a nice chemistry with some of the quarterbacks in attendance, and although tight ends didn't get the ball much, he made the most of the opportunities presented to him.

Overall, it was quite a weekend for the Wolverine contingent in Columbus; Morris may have locked down five-star status, while Dawson and Charlton look poised to move up when the recruiting services update their rankings.

Speaking of which, Scout unveiled their initial 2013 team rankings, and it comes as no surprise that Michigan holds down the top spot, the first time that a school other than Texas has ranked #1 in Scout's initial release. Ohio State is at #4, Notre Dame #5, Penn State #12, Nebraska #17, and Michigan State rounds out the list at #20.

Isaac Down to Three, More 2013 News

Josh Helmholdt caught up with IL RB Ty Isaac after his latest trip to USC, and while this has been presumed for a long time, Isaac has trimmed his list to three schools ($):

"Right now, it's Michigan, USC and Notre Dame," Isaac said. "Among that group some are ahead of others, but I think it's down to them. Hopefully I can get this thing knocked out soon.

"If all goes well and nothing else comes up, hopefully I can get this done before my season starts, whether that be soon or in August. If not, I've got until February 2nd. I don't see it going that long, but if circumstances warrant that then so be it."

In good news for Michigan fans, Isaac also mentioned that a pre-decision trip to Ann Arbor "could take place in the near future." Considering his statements above, it's logical to think that the Wolverines are still in a very strong position to land his commitment, with Notre Dame probably on the outside looking in right now.

CA S Su'a Cravens will announce his decision on June 6th, his mother's birthday, and according to Scout's Lindsay Thiry he's narrowed his choices to five schools ($): USC, UCLA, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio State. Rivals's Adam Gorney reports, however, that while Cravens will take a trip to the Midwest before his decision, he will visit just two of those Big Ten schools, though he won't say which one is out of the running ($). Regardless, USC will be the team to beat, and I have a tough time seeing him go elsewhere.

The Wolverines continue to send out wide receiver offers, with the latest going to FL WR Alvin Bailey, the high school teammate of five-star safety Leon McQuay III. Bailey tells 247 that he's feeling the time crunch of the recruiting process, and while he hopes to visit Michigan he might not get the chance ($). He seems like a player who will stay in-state, though a four-star at a position of need—not to mention a teammate of an elite prospect—is certainly worth an offer.

M Leading for McDowell? Plus More 2014 Offers

2014 MI DE Malik McDowell continues to rack up the offers, with his latest coming from Notre Dame, and he also impressed at the NFTC over the weekend. The Detroit Loyola product recently named a top five of Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State, but one school might stick out above the rest ($):

The recruiting process is just getting started for Detroit (Mich.) Loyola class of 2014 defensive end Malik McDowell, with Notre Dame becoming the latest school to offer this past Friday, but Michigan may have already established itself as the school to beat.

“You could say that,” McDowell said after participating in the Ohio Nike Football Training Camp Regional at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday.

I've been hearing the same myself, though McDowell still wants to take visits—especially to the SEC programs—before coming to any sort of decision.

Michigan continues to send out offers to elite rising juniors. TX S Edward Paris, the #10 overall prospect in 247's early rankings, picked up an offer over the weekend ($). He'll be tough to pull out of the South, but says he would like to come up for a game in the fall. DC CB D'Andre Payne already has Virginia as his leader, but Michigan—amongst several other schools—threw their hat into the ring last week ($). Finally, Tremendous reports AZ WR Dionte Sykespicked up a Michigan offer a couple of weeks ago, and he'd like to take an unofficial visit over the summer.

Interesting how Cravens has ruled one of those teams out, yet lists them in a top 5. What could have caused him to do so other than perhaps the pederast thing? Not that it matters since he is going to SC. Think about it, he plans the decision on his mom's bday. Do you think he is going to then choose a school thousands of miles from said mother? hmmmmm

Except for the other thing. That hurts the most. But the lack of respect hurts the second most.

it might be that he has a clear top 3 (USC, UCLA, and one Big Ten team), and that 4 and 5 are really a toss-up. So he knows he'll visit the one (Michigan, right?), but not sure which of the other 2 he'll visit.

Sorry if that was misleading. IMO, even being in a 50-50 dogfight for a recruit is "very strong" position, and I think it's more like 60-40 or 55-45 (and, damn, sorry about that, I hate doing the percentages thing when it's a remarkably inexact science).

I agree that Michigan might have a slight lead right now. When you hate the process and can't wait for it to be over and you visit USC a second time and still don't pull the trigger? That has to be a pretty good sign for us.

50-50 is pretty much a recruiting theme because if a player was more one side then he would have already committed. I think both schools have their advantages, but just like in the Josh Garnett case, location will be the overriding factor and we will see a Hello: post and Kate Upton videos in the near future.

Obviously two clips is a really small sample size, but Jarrod Clements (teammate of McCray) looked to have really good burst for a guy with his size and strength in that video. Illinois may have themselves a good one.

Seems like we're offering a new WR every week. Is that due to lack of confidence with Treadwell?, Just our general need for 2 WRs?, Or trying to put a little pressure on Treadwell. (or none of the above). I'm not real worried about this. WR seems like a position where a lot of kids suddenly become "major" recruits in their senior years and it would have to be tough to say no when a kid know's he'll have Morris to get him the ball.

I'm out of Bolivia. Sex trafficking, kidnapping, drug running, and not a decent beer to be had. Man that sucked.

I think there's still a lot of confidence in Treadwell—he tweeted last night that he'll likely visit Michigan again soon—but not as much in the other options. Massington and Ateman committed elsewhere last week, Devon Allen hasn't visited campus, and neither have Sebastian Larue, Darrell Daniels, or Demorea Stringfellow, who all hail from California. Guys like Uriah LeMay, Kevin Gladney, James Quick, Marquez North, and Robert Foster have either cooled on Michigan or vice versa. There's such a huge need for two wideouts, and no obvious second candidate after Treadwell, that these new offers make sense.

It seems to me that the depth that Michigan is trying to build at many of the other positions (OL, LB, DL) it makes sense that depth at this position be addressed as well. An important skill position, its one where we have more than one need on the field, generally, at any one time. I think its a position that Hoke doesn't want to be short on. Pun intended.

it could also be that Dawson is somewhat of a late bloomer or that he was just more focused on overpowering guys rather than good technique, and that his senior year tape will be leaps and bounds better. His initial guru ratings weren't all that hot either. Based on his soph/jr year tape, he could look like a fringe FBS guy. Given his camp raves, his sr year tape should be much better and people (guru ratings, magnus, etc) may change their minds.

Magnus clearly knows football and has his opinion, but you have to take into context that he's working off a few highlight films.

David Dawson debuted as a 4 star on 3 out of the 4 main recruiting sites. That's not a 'borderline' FBS player's rating to me. Especially with offers from Arkansas, Alabama, USC, Florida, Florida State, etc.

Had a few OSU buddies who were at Dominican over the weekend and they both came away very jealous of Dawson. They said he is a true mauler and looks to have the feet to play tackle in a pinch. They said his footwork and use of his hands were the most impressive things about him. Good punch and extension. Both of these guys coach offense at the college level so they know what they are talking about and think Dawson will be an All-Conference type at least.

They said Morris looked for confident and collected. Great arm and when he sets his feet correctly (which was pretty much the whole day) he's very accurate. Great pro-style QB. With the right coaching, he is gonna be a talent for you guys.

They both stated that you can see the potential with LTT, but that he needs some coaching and work in the weight room. They said he looked sloppier than Dawson. He lunged quite a bit and needs work on stance and hands. The athleticism is there, though, and obviously the size.

McCray they thought was less impressive. He had good instincts and size, but they didn't think he'll be able to handle athletic tight ends or slot receivers in zone. They did say he has good straight line burst.

Taco is very athletic for his size. In 1-on-1's, he's often too quick and agile for high school O-lineman. They both said that he has the potential to be a great pass rusher, but in non-pass rush situations he often seems hesitant and confused. Also had problems shedding in run-blocking situations. May just be that he needs coaching up.

Thanks for the input. Everything you said sounds about on par for these guys, according to the scouts. Taco is definitely thought to have a high ceiling, but needs some coaching up when it comes to shedding blocks and using more technique.

Kind of surprised by what your buddies said about McCray since it sounds like he was covering RBs pretty well. But it is thought to be one of his weaknesses as well.

“What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve and those who stay will be champions.” - Bo

People in the know, are 2014 prospects allowed to take official visits this fall if they've been offered? As in, if they want to come out to games, can UM foot the bill? Or is that all on them until the fall of their senior year?

Denard has spent the offseason working really hard and smiling at people.